Page 107 of The Pact

“What else is wrong?” It’s not a question I’m expecting. I give him a confused look. “You’re on edge—I can feel the anxiety vibrating off of you.”

I don’t want to unload on him, but I don’t have anyone else right now. “I feel like my life is going in reverse. I should be moving forward. This year was supposed to be…I don’t know…good.” It isn’t until the words come out that I realize they might hurt him. The only good thing in my life right now is the four of them, so I add that. “You, Sutton, Cole, and Damian are the only light in the darkness.” He chuckles as if he knows I threw that in for his benefit. “I’m not doing the photography I want. We were denied the loan for the property. My truck. My apartment. And my psycho ex trying to ruin my life. Everything is falling apart.”

Laying my head on his sturdy chest, I let his even breathing hynotize me into calmness. “Things fell apart for me once too,” he admits softly. I glance up. He’s staring straight ahead. “A couple of months after Victoria left, I broke my femur. I was in a bad head space and I was being reckless while climbing one day. There were some loose rocks. I should have turned around, but I didn’t. The rocks gave way, my anchor failed, and I fell. The perfect combo for a near fatal fall. Luckily, my leg took most of the damage. It could have easily been my head or back.”

His story has me on the edge of my seat, and I realize my fingers are digging into his arm. Wesley continues. “Thankfully, my partner was there to call the mountain rescue service. However, those first few months after were…dark.” He lets out a shaky breath. “I thought my business was done for. My whole life is being outdoors, hiking, climbing, kayaking. How would I do any of that with a bum leg?”

“How did you recover from it, from the setback?” Wesley finally looks down at me. His dark eyes holding something close to wistfulness.

“I didn’t.” The confession shocks me, making my mouth go slack. “I went through it. I went through the utter destruction of everything I built. I sifted through the wreckage. And then I rebuilt. I found a way to make my business a hundred times better. Because I had an appreciation for losing it all…for losing myself and finding the strength to make it through to the other side.”

Staring absently at the movie, I take in his words. They aren’t the ones I want to hear, in all honesty. I hoped for some kind of easy solution to all of this, but that’s not realistic. The universe hasn’t exactly catered to my wishes lately, so expecting to have my life magically fall back into place is…delusional.

Wesley’s fingers lift my chin up to look at him. “You know what we both have in common amid all the chaos?” I shake my head. “We have a support system to help us through. Damian, Cole, and Sutton didn’t let me give up. They made sure I was cared for when I needed it, but they also made sure to call me on my shit when I wasn’t putting in the effort. You have that too. With us. You’re not going to go through this alone, I promise you that, blue eyes.”

His words bring me more comfort than he can understand. Yet, edging on that feeling of safety is the nagging that I’m becoming too dependent on these men—just like Cassie said.

I’ve been independent my whole life—physically and emotionally. Giving that up might be the hardest thing for me to do. If I give into them, like they want me to, they could destroy me. Or…they could save me.

37

THEA

Wesley and I sit in silence, watching, yet not watching, the movie on the screen. His finger does laps over my thigh. It’s an aimless gesture. Maybe it even comforts him. At first, it soothes me as well, although it isn’t long before my skin begins to tingle and heat at his touch.

I trace my fingers over his chest, admiring the hard muscles beneath his cotton shirt. The idea of testing that theory is looking really appealing.

Running my hand to just below the collar of his shirt, I curl my fingers so that only my nails touch the fabric. Then, I drag them down. Not too hard, but enough to see if I’m right—if Wesley enjoys being clawed.

My eyes flick up to study his reaction.

He sucks in a breath, although it doesn’t seem like he’s in pain. So I dig in a little deeper and his head falls back. Fuck, this is hot. Then I feel his nails pushing into my thigh. I’m not sure if it’s a reaction to what I’m doing or if he’s trying to show me he’ll do it back.

There’s only one way to find out. Thea gets what she wants.

I yank the blanket from our laps and swing my leg over, so I’m straddling him. His head jolts up to look at me. Wesley’s surprised at first, his jaw slack and his lids heavy with desire. But then his jaw flexes and he’s grabbing my ass, pulling me deeper into him.

The bulge in his pants presses into me. Thank God I’m wearing these thin yoga shorts. I want to feel everything.

“Damn it, Thea.” His eyes roll back as I rock my hips into him, sliding my pussy over his hard cock. Despite the thinness of my clothes, there’s still too much fabric. The need for there to be nothing between us wars with my desire to savor this.

He’s been far too reserved for my liking, like Damian. I need to nudge Wes in the right direction. Damian…well he’s a different story. He needs to be in control, or at least think he is, so I’ll have to convince him another way.

I lower my mouth to his neck and let the very tip of my tongue run up the center of it, over his Adam’s apple, only stopping just below his chin. His head rolls to the side, giving me access to his angular jaw. I kiss along it. Each peck makes his hands grip my ass tighter. The feel of his fingers pushing hard into me makes me gasp.

My mouth finds the shell of his ear, my tongue darts out and traces along it, making him shiver. I nip softly at the tender skin. Wesley’s arms release and wrap around my back until his hands are on my shoulders, pulling me down harder onto this cock.

Something comes over me, the feel of power at knowing that I have these four men so fucking horny for me all the time ignites my confidence. “How much do you want this, Wes?” I breathe into his ear.

He gives me a moan in response. Not good enough. I run my hands over the nape of his neck and into his messy hair until I can grip it. I push his head up so that he’s forced to look me in the eye. “How much do you want this?” I repeat louder and more insistently.

“So damn much, blue eyes,” he answers. I let go of his hair and drop my lips to his neck, licking a circle before I bite down gently right over his pulse.

Wesley’s hands tighten on my shoulders and he bucks his hips upwards, right into my pussy. Oh yes, he likes being marked up. Something about that knowledge has me wondering how far I can take it. I bite down a little harder and he groans out, “Yes”.

I can’t help smiling against his skin.

My hand slips between us and I find his erection easily in the gray sweats he’s wearing. He’s so thick, I almost moan from gripping him. I stroke him a few times through the material, but I’m desperate to get these clothes off.

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